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District 25 highlights attendance, arts, athletics and college‑savings outreach in weekly report
Summary
District staff reported priorities including chronic absenteeism reduction, arts and athletics funding and events, student leadership activities, a bocce inclusion league, a college‑savings outreach plan and a recruitment fair for teacher hiring; staff linked many activities to wellness and student engagement goals.
District staff gave a wide‑ranging report on existing programs and priorities: chronic absenteeism, arts funding and assemblies, athletics and student leadership events, teacher recruitment and a proposed district goal to promote enrollment in the Save for College program for children in K–3.
The district reported that math and ELA state testing windows are underway and that end‑of‑year diagnostics are being administered. Staff said the district is second‑lowest among city districts for chronic absenteeism measures but emphasized that 18% chronic absenteeism remains high. Staff described targeted outreach that schools will conduct to support families and monitor students who have early‑year absences to prevent patterns that carry through K–8.
On enrichment and engagement, the district described a $75,000 arts funding allocation used for assemblies (Chinese dance, West African drumming), Broadway tickets and community arts events that will reach dozens of schools; a bocce league and the first middle school girls basketball league were highlighted as inclusive athletics initiatives. The district also previewed a large student leadership trip to Adelphi University with motivational speakers and college‑readiness activities for roughly 120 student council representatives.
Staff discussed teacher recruitment efforts (a recruitment fair that drew hundreds of candidates), ongoing work on HMH literacy and implementation, and the Save for College program (an account seeded with $100 for eligible kindergarten through third‑grade students). The Save for College program is opt‑in and staff suggested adding district outreach as a goal to increase family activation rates (district activation was described as under 30%).
Ending: District leaders framed these initiatives as part of a broader student engagement and wellness agenda and asked CEC members to weigh in on whether Save for College activation should become a district goal. Several members supported outreach steps; staff said they would consider adding the item to the District Leadership Team agenda.
